


Beneath the Clouds of Heaven

by Animus_Luciform, starrymellie



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Cyberpunk, M/M, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 06:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13518567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animus_Luciform/pseuds/Animus_Luciform, https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrymellie/pseuds/starrymellie
Summary: “‘Ricky, switch my outfit to sleepwear number 3,’ Ryan directed the AI, his casual clothes phasing out into sweats and a thin T shirt. ‘And change my room to sleep mode,’ he added before climbing into his bed. As he did so, his room dimmed to a deep blue, the temperature cooled, and soft music began to play.Ryan sighed and smiled to himself, forcing down his excitement and nerves so he could get some rest. Tomorrow was the day he'd travel where no Angelican had ever ventured before."orRyan thinks he is the first to explore the Below, the mysterious realm below the floating city of Angelis, but there may be a good reason why he's never heard of any others.





	Beneath the Clouds of Heaven

Ryan had heard talk of the Below for what seemed like his whole life—all speculation, of course. The theories ranged from boring to downright horseshit, and Ryan leaned more towards horseshit, if he was being honest. The idea of horrifying, mutated people or even ghosts down below the vibrant city of Angelis both terrified and intrigued him. So, naturally, he  _had_ to do a show on it.

Ryan worked for Buzzfeed, a renowned social media company that had been around since the early days of VWorld. Buzzfeed was behind some of the most popular VWorld rooms and their shows were always an entertaining watch. Ryan had been stoked when he’d seen “VWorld host” as one of his potential jobs back in primary school and he had jumped on the opportunity to pursue that field in junior high.

Now, Ryan had his very own VRoom and a show every week, a significant upgrade from just appearing in other’s shows. His room was titled Buzzfeed Unsolved, and he discussed conspiracy theories, unsolved mysteries, and even visited haunted locations. At first, only a few people showed up in his VRoom, causing it to be quite small, but Ryan soon discovered that thousands of people were as fascinated with mysteries and the occult as he was; the room was now about the size of a football field, with multiple stories to boot. It really motivated him to see how many people actually enjoyed his show. Needless to say, he loved his job—even the researching was fun.

This week, he was doing an episode on the Below, the mysterious area around a thousand feet below the floating city. There was no concrete evidence on anything regarding the Below, just that it was an actual place. Though there were many reported sightings of lights and various noises coming from down there, many have brushed those off as just the cleaning bots doing their work, albeit a bit noisily. Though, unlike most people, Ryan’s suspension of belief was taught like a thread ready to snap—the proof was there, he just needed the evidence to back it up. There was  _something_ down there; of that, he was certain.

So, Ryan was going to get himself and all his audience members some hard evidence once and for all by journeying to the Below himself. He wasn’t entirely sure that this was legal, but he just wasn’t gonna ask. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right? He didn't have any strikes to his record, so even if this was illegal, he’d definitely be fine. He hoped. Ryan had put off doing this episode for a while due to these concerns about his career and criminal record, but his insatiable curiosity and the insistent demands from the fans had won out.

He had spent the majority of his weekend searching the VNet for any entrances to the Below. Most were bullshit, but finally, after a few hours of searching, he found an actual pathway down. He then got prepared to head down there the following day.

Ryan packed a bag, making sure to pack an extra pair of VGlasses in case he damaged his normal pair, as well as some snacks, and water. Afterwards, he headed to his room to get some sleep.

“Ricky, switch my outfit to sleepwear number 3,” Ryan directed the AI, his casual clothes phasing out into sweats and a thin T shirt. “And change my room to sleep mode,” he added before climbing into his bed. As he did so, his room dimmed to a deep blue, the temperature cooled, and soft music began to play.

Ryan sighed and smiled to himself, forcing down his excitement and nerves so he could get some rest. Tomorrow was the day he'd travel where no Angelican had ever ventured before. He closed his eyes and heard the faint hum of hovercars roving past his window under the sounds of the ambient music. Even on the brink of adventure, Ryan thought to himself, everything essentially stayed the same.

 

* * *

 

Finding the entrance to the Below wasn’t difficult in the least—all he had to do was inform his VGlasses of his desired destination and the familiar blue arrows and gruff voice of his AI, who he had named Ricky Goldsworth, showed him the way. That seemed it would be the easiest part in this entire trip.

Ryan hadn’t thought that the entrance was all too far, and really, it _wouldn’t_ have been. But sadly, no bullets went anywhere near there, and there wasn’t even a single phase pad. So he had to take his hoverboard, which was significantly slower than the bullet.

He finally arrived after thirty long minutes of hovering, or was it forty-five? Either way, it was a _long_ time, the longest it had ever taken him to get anywhere in the city.

Ryan gave a sigh of relief as he hopped off his board, tapping a button that caused the it to shrink before storing it in his pants pocket. Then, he looked at the menacing hole in the shiny, pristine city floor in apprehension. There was a reason this place had been so hard to find; there was something distinctly unsettling about the gaping hole, an eerily perfect circle carved straight into the floor, hidden in the shadows behind a tall building like some sort of forgotten construction project.

He was starting to have second thoughts, anxiety slowly beginning to course through his entire body. But Ryan wasn’t just going to back out now, not after he’d already done so much work for this show, and this episode in particular. Ryan clenched his jaw and forced himself to walk closer to the mouth of the hole.

Once he was at the very edge of it, he peered in and saw nothing but a set of spiraling stairs trailing down into the hole, slowing fading into darkness. He let out a shaky breath and pushed forward, down the stairs and into the abyss.

Ryan’s night vision kicked in soon after entering the hole, giving everything a green tint. God, was he thankful to whoever created the genius invention that were VGlasses long before his birth. They were a key factor in keeping this country running smoothly. Without them, how would police know if someone broke the law? Or where everyone was at any given time? He couldn’t imagine how the authorities were able to find any missing people or catch criminals at all back before these.

All the old cases he’d covered could've easily been solved if only they had VGlasses, but at least unsolved cases and crime were things of the past. A forgotten worry of the past. Under a monitored state, Ryan supposed, the dark part of the human psyche that had created serial killers and notorious criminals in the past had no room to play. All one should really want to do when they know they're being constantly watched by the government is live their best life.

Ryan could see the floor of the Below now, just ahead. It was pure dirt and rocks and he was grossed out by the fact that his shoes would be touching that; it was a good thing he’d had the foresight to wear his least favorite pair. He stepped gingerly from the final step, winced at the grainy sensation of the dirt under his soles, and looked around.

For the first time, Ryan was able to fully appreciate why the city had bots produce an artificial cloud cover so that the residents of Angelis didn't have to gaze upon this wasteland. Everything was incredibly dim and smoggy—only short, muted rays of light made their way to the ground through the clouds at erratic intervals, highlighting mounds of junk and the frames of decaying concrete buildings. An oppressive smell of motor oil and burning plastic filled the air. Ryan shuddered. If he had to look at this place every day, he'd be depressed as hell.

“AH! Get _AWAY FROM ME!!_ _Please!_ Someone _help me!!_ ”

Ryan was startled by the young girl’s voice, momentarily frozen to the spot by the jarring realization that there were _people_ down here. _Holy shit._

The sound of a loud crash and another scream spurred Ryan into action, immediately taking off running towards the noise. It may have been gross and terrifying down there, but he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing while a kid screamed for help.

He flew past rigid, tall rocks, piles of trash, and what looked like a lot of bot remains. He didn’t have time to dwell on that particular detail though, since the crashing noises seemed to be getting louder.

After rounding a rocky corner, Ryan finally saw what was making all that noise. A man, around Ryan’s age, with a visor over his eyes and a general rugged look to him, was destroying a bot. It wasn’t just any bot either, no, it was an _enforcer bot._

Ryan’s mind was racing at a hundred miles per hour. _What the hell is an enforcer bot doing down here?_

The man delivered the final blow to the bot and it erupted into small pieces, debris flying everywhere, one bit of shrapnel narrowly missing Ryan’s face.

The man then walked over to the girl, who Ryan had just noticed crouching by a pile of scrap, and kneeled down in front of her. He wiped away her tears and gave her a small smile.

“You okay, kid?”

His voice was nice, Ryan noted. Soothing, almost, and just a little bit gravelly. The girl nodded and put on a brave face.

“Yeah, thank you, Shane.” Her reply sounded awkward, like she was forcing herself to be polite, but it was no less genuine. It was more like she wasn’t used to having to thank someone.

It was then that the girl noticed Ryan. He went to give her a smile, but she glared and hurriedly pointed him out to the man, or as Ryan now knew him, Shane.

Shane immediately got up and stalked over to Ryan, who in turn found that he was frozen in fear, his feet rooted to the disgusting, gravelly earth. Just _great._

Shane’s arm was at his throat in seconds and Ryan was quickly pressed up against a wall of jagged rock, some edges digging into his back. The guy looked furious. Ryan was man enough to admit that he was scared shitless.

“Who the _fuck_ are you?” Shane demanded lowly, his visor going from yellow to red and the cartoonish eyes turning almost comically angry. _Almost,_ since Ryan was still very much scared out of his mind.

“My– I’m Ryan Bergara,” he choked out.

Ryan squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel a panic attack coming on, and the constricting pressure on his neck paired with the rock digging into his back really weren’t helping. He felt claustrophobic, like the world was slowly crushing him, and he felt himself start to hyperventilate.

“Please, I’m just– I’m– it’s for a show. I swear I can’t– couldn’t hurt a fucking _fly_ even if I tried,” he stuttered out between rapid breaths.

Shane sighed, his visor going back to a yellow color, eyes turning what seemed to be apologetic. But Ryan wasn’t sure—the tech looked ancient, and up close, the eyes just looked like a bunch of pixels. Shane moved both of his hands so that they rested on Ryan’s shoulders.

“Calm the fuck down, okay? I’m not gonna hurt you or anything, alright kid?” Shane said evenly. Ryan wanted to point out that he most definitely _was not a kid_ , but he decided to focus on breathing and not having a full-blown panic attack.

“Now, stay still, I gotta take those eavesdropping _things_ out of your eyes,” Shane stated, just as casually, like this was a normal occurrence.

It wasn’t until Shane brought a finger to his eye that Ryan actually freaked out, but Shane stopped him dead in his tracks as he tried to jerk away.

“Stay _still_ , or this is gonna hurt. Either way I’m taking those things out, kid, so stop your moving.”

“Why? I _need them_ , how do you expect me go around without them!?” Ryan retorted. Seriously, was this guy _insane_? Ryan could get heavily fined if he was caught without his VGlasses, plus how would he be able to tell time, or even _see_ without them? Ryan wasn’t actually sure if he could see without them, they automatically corrected any vision problems and Ryan had never had them off long enough to check. He didn’t _want to take them off._ He _needed_ them, just like every other person. Ryan suddenly remembered every horror movie he'd ever seen, how the killer always removed their VGlasses and those of their victim before murdering them. Shane obviously wasn't wearing any himself. Was this guy gonna _kill_ him? Oh God, oh God, _oh God._

He wasn’t able to stop Shane, though—the threat of pain made him cease his struggling and allowed Shane to take off his VGlasses without much effort. Once they were out of Ryan’s eyes, Shane immediately dropped them to the ground and crushed them with his foot.

Ryan cringed.

“Now we can actually talk.” Shane leaned back some, but he was still too close, still intimidating since the guy seemed to tower over Ryan. Which really, was no fair.

Once he was free to move, Ryan brought his hands up to his eyes, rubbing at them for longer than entirely necessary. He was shocked by the shear darkness of the place without his VGlasses allowing him to see, he was almost afraid to see how dark it would be once the sun set.

“You didn’t have to break them.” Ryan muttered, taking one of his hands off his eye to glance sadly at the smashed pieces of what was once his VGlasses. Those were his favorite pair too, they were a rare neon purple. At least he had his spare in his bag, but he definitely wasn’t gonna tell this guy that.

Shane rubbed the back of his neck, his visor taking on what Ryan assumed was a serious expression. “Yeah I did, kid. You want the bots tracking you down here?”

“Stop calling– I’m not a kid.” Ryan threw Shane a halfhearted glare. “You know my name, it’s Ryan, why don’t you use it.” He hated being called kid, especially by someone who didn’t look much older than him. The ridiculous height difference wasn't helping his case, either.

Shane sighed, his visor’s pixelated eyes rolling back and coming back up from the bottom. Ryan had to admit that the visor was cool, and if he had not been scared shitless then he might’ve even laughed at a few expressions. They were so exaggerated and cartoonish.

“ _Fine,_ Ryan it is, now stop complaining.” He then looked around them, and Ryan noticed that the girl was now gone.

“We should probably head out of this area, if there’s one bot there’s bound to be more.” Shane grabbed Ryan’s shoulder and started leading them away. “Now come on, my place is near here.”

Ryan wasn’t sure if going to Shane’s “place” was a good idea, but he was pretty certain he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Shane’s grip was firm on his shoulder, and Ryan had a feeling that the man could restrain him in a heartbeat if he tried to run. As they walked, Ryan’s mind wandered back to the bot. Why had it attacked that little girl? And why was it even down here in the first place? Shane had implied there were more of them roaming around. The only bots that were supposed to be down here were cleaning bots, definitely not enforcers. What the hell was going on?

“Why did that bot attack that girl back there?” Ryan blurted out. Shane’s stride faulted a little at the sudden question.

“Because that’s what they’re programmed to do, why else?” His voice seemed strained and harsh, like he was clenching his jaw as he spoke, but Ryan could tell that the harshness wasn’t directed at him.

“Yeah, okay, but _why?”_ He pressed. “Enforcers aren’t even supposed to be down here, they’re supposed to be stationed at the borders.” Ryan had a feeling he knew the answer, but he desperately hoped he was wrong.

It took Shane a bit to answer, his hold on Ryan’s shoulder tightening and untightening.

“They’re exterminating some particularly annoying pests,” he said finally. He let out a humorless, clipped laugh, and Ryan’s suspicions sank and settled in his stomach like stones.

 

* * *

 

Shane’s place was an old apartment, probably from the early 2000s, back before the city was built to float. The area seemed secluded, nothing like some of the small makeshift towns they passed along the way. It was so _quiet_ here, something that Ryan wasn’t used to in the least. The city always had some sort of background noise, like music or people talking or the whir of machines. The lack of noise made Ryan’s hair stand up in an uncomfortable way, and he rubbed the back of his neck uneasily.

Shane led him into the rundown building. It was three stories, and the paint was chipping off the walls in the places where there still was any. It was a depressing color, but all the colors down here were depressing, all muted browns and moldy greens and dirty blacks. Ryan had only been down in the Below for an hour or so, but he already felt homesick.

He followed Shane into what seemed to be the lobby of the place. There were three lumpy couches strewn about the room, the inside of the building just as dull and dirty as its exterior. There were even some vines coming in through a broken window. Ryan wasn't even sure he'd  _seen_ dirt in Angelis, aside from fertilizer in pictures of the interior of agriculture centers, but as he was learning, this underworld was _coated_ with it. It was all rather disgusting.

Shane stopped and leaned against what was left of the old front desk, his body taking what seemed like a relaxed pose, but Ryan could tell from the tense of his shoulders and the set of his jaw that he was still on edge. Shane’s…”eyes” never left Ryan as he in turn perched himself on one of the battered couches. The grime was still gross, but he was tired from all that walking and the need to rest his legs overpowered his disgust. Shane, on the other hand, seemed to lack that particular problem. He stood still like a statue, not even shifting his legs around to ease his muscles.

Ryan saw this as his opportunity to get the answers he wanted, Shane’s previous answers far too vague for his liking.

“How’re there people down here? I mean, sure there were theories and stuff about things living down here, but those were about ghosts and mutants, not regular old people. Why do all these people live down here instead of up in the city? And if there's more of you down here, why isn’t the fact that there are people down here common knowledge?” Ryan spewed out.

Shane’s cartoonish pixel eyes took on an incredulous look.

“One, don’t just bombard a guy with questions, and two, ghosts? Really?” He scoffed. “There are people in the city that genuinely believe that ghosts haunt the surface. Wow. I mean I know you guys are a bit, _you know_ , but _ghosts_?” Shane rolled his eyes.

Ryan glared at Shane. He wasn't even sure what Shane meant by that “you know” comment, but he resented it.

“There’s a lot of evidence supporting ghosts, you know, I mean you probably haven’t seen any since you live down _here_ and I seriously doubt you guys have access to basic internet, but the supernatural realm exists. It’s _there,_ ” Ryan bit out.

Shane just raised a pixelated eyebrow.

“Sure, kid.”

Ryan clenched his jaw, but he wasn’t going to let this conversation get derailed, he was getting his answers.

“Moving back to my original questioning, why, or more, _how_ are you people down here? I mean–” Ryan peered around at their filthy, dim surroundings. “–it can't be _good_ , living here. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Why did these people choose to live down in this dreary place? Angelis was ten times better than this abandoned hellscape.

Shane sighed, his face retaking a serious look.

“No one has _chosen_ to live down here, we were all either thrown down or born here.” Shane stated.

Ryan wished Shane would just elaborate on his own, but it seemed that he’d just have to continue to push if wanted detailed answers. “Who’s _throwing_ people down here? Wait, _why_ are people being thrown down here in the first place?”

“There’s no room in Angelis for undesirables like us. Poor people and criminals don’t really fit their ‘aesthetic,’” Shane elaborated.

“Wait, _what?_ ” Ryan asked, not quite able to comprehend this new information. It was like a punch in the gut—he never could’ve imagined that the officials would do something so horrible as to _throw_ people down here. He _knew_ people who worked for the government...did they know? Did they _care?_

Shane sighed, he seemed to be slowly getting more annoyed as Ryan asked questions.

“I said–”

“I heard you, it’s just,” Ryan interrupted, “it’s a lot to take in, okay? To think– I mean, I’ve lived up there my whole life in the bubble of that city, completely ignorant of what they were doing.” Ryan felt sick, nauseous little yellow dots swimming in his vision.

“They say ignorance is bliss, and Angelis is the city of bliss. Of course they wouldn’t inform the public.” Shane looked angry, but his voice was resigned.

Ryan ran a frustrated hand through his hair, pulling on the bright blue locks. He let out a shaky breath, calming himself down before he began to speak again.

“I have to tell everyone. I can’t just let this continue if there’s something I can do about it.”

“No,” Shane stated, with no room for argument in his tone. “I’m not letting you go back up there, you can’t. You lost your ability to go back when you saw my face. I can’t let you, it’s too much of a risk for me and everyone I know.”

Ryan stood from his seat on the sofa. “You can’t keep me down here!” He stalked over to Shane.

Shane stood to his full height, looming over Ryan. “I can and I will. I’m not gonna let you reveal to Angelis officials where I am, I’m not putting my life on the line just so you can go back to your stupid city.” His voice was commanding, but a hint of fear undercut it and gave his words a sort of frantic edge.

Ryan glared at him and puffed up his chest, trying everything to make himself look more threatening. “ _Why would I tell them_?! I just told you that I wanted to help you!”

“You’re an idiot. They’re not gonna give you a choice. The moment you reach the surface they’ll force you to tell them everything you know and then they’ll wipe your memory.”

“How do you know!?”

“ _Because it’s happened before!”_ The room seemed to shake and Ryan swore he saw some debris fall from the ceiling. He had definitely struck a sore spot, and Ryan immediately deflated.

Shane let out an angry huff of breath and fisted a hand through his hair, messing up the already unruly strands. “You’re not going back and that’s non-negotiable. If I suspect you’re trying to leave I will break your goddamn legs, got it, kid?”

Shane’s voice was significantly calmer, but way more intimidating. Ryan looked away and shoved his hands in his pockets, it was all he could do to not break down. His whole life was a lie fed to him by a corrupt government, and he couldn't go home, because this guy could and would kill him if he tried. Holy shit.

“Got it,” he mumbled.

Shane walked past Ryan and towards a beat-up trash can that had green paint chipping off to reveal rust. He dragged the trash can from its corner so that it was situated between two of the ragged couches. The harsh scraping noise made Ryan flinch.

Ryan looked up at the sound of crackling fire. Shane was now sitting on one of the sofas and Ryan momentarily thought that the light of the fire illuminating Shane’s features made his face seem more attractive, softer somehow. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and stomped over to his previous seat.

The heat of the fire felt nice on Ryan’s face and it helped him to relax after his argument with Shane. He still felt awkward and he couldn’t get himself to look at Shane’s face. He was still very much intimidated by the other man.

He listened to the soft crackle of the fire and the wind against the old building, which helped him to clear his head some. He leaned back against the couch, but quickly sat back up at the gross texture of the sofa against his exposed skin. He frantically rubbed at the back of his neck, making a disgusted noise.

Shane chuckled. “You're gonna have to get used to that, you know,” he stated amusingly. “There aren’t really many places down here that aren’t covered in dirt.”

Ryan glared at Shane, but it lacked the venom it had earlier. “Shut up,” he mumbled, before fixing his eyes on the glowing fire.

After a couple more minutes of silence, Shane spoke up again. “Sorry for yelling at you, my intention wasn’t to scare you or anything.”

Ryan shot him an incredulous look.

“Fine, maybe it was. It’s just.” He let out a breath. “Someone I was really close to died ‘cause she let an Angelican go back to the city after seeing her and learning about us. I can’t– I _won’t_ let that happen again.”

Ryan didn’t say anything, but he kind of understood now. Though, that didn't mean that he wanted to go home any less. This place was horrible.

They sank into another silence, but it lacked that oppressive awkward energy from earlier, something that Ryan was grateful for. He just sat and watched the fire dance, glad for its light since the Below was unnaturally dark and he didn’t have his VGlasses. Ryan found his eyes drooping and he was falling asleep and then waking up again, his head lolling forward and then quickly jerking back up.

Shane got up silently, ascending the stairs to a higher floor. He came back some time later; Ryan  wasn’t sure of time currently, and he tried not to think about how much that unnerved him. Shane carried a clean but worn-looking pillow and a blanket under his arm, which he handed to Ryan.

Ryan quietly thanked Shane and made himself a makeshift sleeping bag, not really wanting any of his bare skin to touch the filthy couch. Despite the countless questions and fears still swirling around in his mind, exhaustion won out, and after a few moments, he let himself slip away into sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, here it finally is, our little sci-fi fic baby!
> 
> This cyberpunk AU is mainly the brainchild of [Tom](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Animus_Luciform) (detrimental-unicorns on tumblr) and [Mel](http://archiveofourown.org/users/starrymellie) (crappylittledemon). We are both super excited to be bringing this story into reality! Feel free to ask us questions on tumblr, and comments/feedback are greatly appreciated. <3


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